Has anyone worked out any agreement with any of the hotels or parking lots or car rental agencies near Tucson International Aiport? I'm not focused on short term charging but on long-term park-to-fly or park-to-rent where I can come back to a charged vehicle at a covered spot? For that, Level I would be absolutely fine, with covered or indoor parking mandatory, and maybe very slight attention from the attendant.

It only costs about $5.x per day and there are two spots near the front of the lot that have a Level 1 conventional outlet nearby that they usually use for vending machines and other. They are very polite and willing to let EV users use these spots, but they can use some notice, so if you know that you are going to be flying, and that you would like to return to a Leaf that has a bit of charge in it, this might be a way to handle it. They provided me with a separate receipt for my keys and stowed the charge cord in the trunk when the charge was done.

This spot was recommended to me by a Volt driver and they had in conversation already confirmed that they were interested to provide this service, if they could. I would not say they are trained in plugging in or anything like that, so I think there is definitely an element of needing to meet them halfway, but the manager seems interested to try to meet the challenge if possible. I intend to use them for all my airport parking needs going forward unless or until something else comes up that is EV-oriented.

A couple of times recently (including today) I have parked my Leaf in order to rent a gasoline car for some longer-range or more flexible driving, but I don't yet have a recommendation as to which agency seems good. Hertz did rent me a Prius for about $40 one day.

Azrich wrote:I've heard from Jason T near Vail. Other Tucson LEAF buyers, please introduce yourself. This is an area where we can discuss local LEAF events, dealerships, charging stations, solar energy, --- anything LEAF.

I've been in touch with Bookmans Bookstores and they plan at least one ChargePoint station at each store. They are already installed at the Grant and Ina stores in Tucson. They will be installing one at the Speedway store before fall.

Here's to many LEAFs cruising the streets of Tucson!!!

2013-08-03Some updates - The GoE3/Eaton fast-charger behind Bookman's Sports on Speedway is there, but it is not functioning. It doesn't seem to be possible to get reliable information as to when it might go live.

There is a fast-charger (blink?) going in behind the ARCO station at Speedway and I-10. That one I'm told is also physically there. Expectations are not too much longer (a week or two?) before going live. If it does, and if it works, it will be the first working DC Fast-charger in Tucson (unless somehow the Bookman's charger goes live and actually works reliably).

In theory, Tucson now has it's first working Fast Charger, in the parking lot behind Bookman's Sports at 3330 E Speedway. The hardware is Eaton and I'm told it's not yet fully up to speed (only 20 kW instead of 40 kW) due to some sort of lingering issue. Anyway, multiple other issues seem to have been worked out.

The charger can be seen fairly quickly by using the map function at chargepoint.com by zooming to the address. Also, filtering by fast-chargers only tends to make it stand out - lots of fast chargers in other towns, one lone working fast charger at present in Tucson.

I say in theory because I don't know for certain if this charger will prove to be reliable.

jlsoaz wrote:In theory, Tucson now has it's first working Fast Charger, in the parking lot behind Bookman's Sports at 3330 E Speedway. The hardware is Eaton and I'm told it's not yet fully up to speed (only 20 kW instead of 40 kW) due to some sort of lingering issue. Anyway, multiple other issues seem to have been worked out.

The charger can be seen fairly quickly by using the map function at chargepoint.com by zooming to the address. Also, filtering by fast-chargers only tends to make it stand out - lots of fast chargers in other towns, one lone working fast charger at present in Tucson.

I say in theory because I don't know for certain if this charger will prove to be reliable.

The L2 charger at the Bookmans Sports Exchange is operational and is free, just like the L2 chargers at other Bookmans locations. However, the L3 charger, which I hear is now operational, may not be free; it may, however, be subsidized by Bookmans.

Last edited by FerretPewPew on Sun Sep 01, 2013 1:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

I just bought a used 2011 SL in the middle of August, and I have to say that I simply love this car!

Also, I've contacted Parking & Transportation Services (PTS) at the University of Arizona to see if they will subsidize the three Blink charging stations available in the parking garages on campus. PTS told me that the University paid for the installation of the three Blink charging stations, but that Blink manages and charges for use of the three charging stations. I was really surprised to find out that the University does not subsidize the charging rates for University employees who drive electric vehicles to work, especially considering that the 2nd Street parking garage has a large PV solar array on its roof deck.

I'll fight the good fight at the University, and I'll let you know if those chargers become subsidized in the near future (though you'll still have to pay to get into the parking garages if you don't already have a pass)!

Really good to hear about your love for the used car. Where did you get it, at one of the local dealers? How many miles?

Regarding the 3 U of A stations I see in garages on the Blink map, I've used two of them, just once or twice, and have been satisfied, particularly in that they are garaged and so are a haven from the extreme sun and heat during certain hours. I remember one time deciding not to charge at Bookman's Grant/Campbell, on a hot sunny day with no shade, and driving over to U of A and getting a charge.

I haven't used them often, but do believe that parking is free for EVs that are charging. I"m not 100% sure of this though since I think mainly I've been there when the gates are open to all. It would be useful to get this information nailed down one way or the other, as to whether EV charging is vouchered to be free of parking fees during the hours when the lot is not normally free to others. I do think it should be free.

On billing for refueling itself, my personal view is that I do not resent paying Blink/UA a few dollars here or there for a charge. Blink network's operator Ecotality is nearly bankrupt in part because of the modest fuel revenues and they just recently lowered the bill from $1.50 per hour to $1.00 per hour, so it's not a huge amount of money one pays for refueling, in my view. There is a capital cost that goes into installing a station like that (wild guess - ~$5k-$12k, including ). Just to acknowledge, I disagree on this point with some other drivers who resent the cost.

There are some issues in and around the cost that I would like to see worked out. For example, if there are two parking spaces laid out next to it and conventions are followed amongst drivers (such as putting some sort of ok-to-unplug-me cardboard note on the dashboard) then under certain circumstances this would help drivers coordinate when it would absolutely be fine to unplug one EV and plug in the one next to it. I haven't had enough experience or thinking yet to figure out where I think Blink or the U of A might want to be in that discussion.

So you have the information, here is a link to the google group where there is also Tucson EV discussion and there is a September 29 event at the Bookman's (3330 Speedway version) parking lot (if you don't already know about it)

Regarding Bookman's Sports parking lot at 3330 Speedway, from what Dave Gelbert wrote today on the google group, the DCFC has been reliably in operation since Thursday, so it looks like that situation is perhaps addressed, but it has been a long haul to get to that point, .... I guess with each day that passes we can call it a bit more solid.

FerretPewPew wrote:I just bought a used 2011 SL in the middle of August, and I have to say that I simply love this car!

Also, I've contacted Parking & Transportation Services (PTS) at the University of Arizona to see if they will subsidize the three Blink charging stations available in the parking garages on campus. PTS told me that the University paid for the installation of the three Blink charging stations, but that Blink manages and charges for use of the three charging stations. I was really surprised to find out that the University does not subsidize the charging rates for University employees who drive electric vehicles to work, especially considering that the 2nd Street parking garage has a large PV solar array on its roof deck.

I'll fight the good fight at the University, and I'll let you know if those chargers become subsidized in the near future (though you'll still have to pay to get into the parking garages if you don't already have a pass)!

My used leaf has about 26K miles, is only down two bars, and I bought it from Thoroughbred Nissan.

Unfortunately, the UA does not provide free parking for the charging stations, so you will end up having to pay for your time spent in the garage unless you go during a time when the gates are up. The garage that is closest to where I work is not issuing any new parking permits, but I'm hoping to talk with someone about making an exception since it is one of only three garages on campus with a charger--I'm surprised that more chargers are not available on campus or that more spots are not designated in the garages near the chargers for EVs.

jlsoaz wrote:Hi FerretPewPew:

Really good to hear about your love for the used car. Where did you get it, at one of the local dealers? How many miles?

Regarding the 3 U of A stations I see in garages on the Blink map, I've used two of them, just once or twice, and have been satisfied, particularly in that they are garaged and so are a haven from the extreme sun and heat during certain hours. I remember one time deciding not to charge at Bookman's Grant/Campbell, on a hot sunny day with no shade, and driving over to U of A and getting a charge.

I haven't used them often, but do believe that parking is free for EVs that are charging. I"m not 100% sure of this though since I think mainly I've been there when the gates are open to all. It would be useful to get this information nailed down one way or the other, as to whether EV charging is vouchered to be free of parking fees during the hours when the lot is not normally free to others. I do think it should be free.